Electric-service board.



N JOLEEN. ELECTRIC SERVICE BOARD. APPL'ICAI'ION FILED AUG. 25, 1911;

Patented June 3, 1913.

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ELECTRIC SERVIOBBOARD. APPLICATION FILED 1111125, 1911.

1,063,265. Patented June 3, 1913.

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N. JOLEEN. I ELECTRIC SERVICE BOA RDI APPLICATION FILED AUG 25, 191 1 1 ,Q63,265, Patented June 3, 1913.

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APPLICATION TILED AUG.25, 1911.

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UNITED sfra'rns PATENT oruion,

NELS JoLEEm or oH'IoAGo, ILLINo'Is.

\ ELEoTRIo-sERvf'cE BOARD.

1,oes,2o5.

Specification of Letters IPatent.

iatented June 3, 1913.

Application filed August 25, 1911. Serial No. 645,984.

'which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to electric service boards, and is particularly adapted for use 10 in. buildings where electrical energy for lighting, heating, or power is distributed to different floors or different parts of the building, and is received from a central station located at a greater or less distance from the building.

A service board. embodying my invention is especially applicable in cases where the current is supplied upon a meter basis by a power company. It is well known that current is frequently stolen from power companics owing to the fact that the terminals of the companys mains and the terminals. of the leads runn ng to the various parts of the building are exposed 1n such manner that an unauthorized person may lead part or all of the current around the meter, thus enabling:- tenants to obtain current without paying for it. Sometimes this is done more or less innocently, for the electricians of the power company may not always be immediately available, and, as the tenant usually requires immediate service in case of a break-down or of new installation, local electricians are frequentlycalled in to make the necessary connection, and finding no meters. connect the house wires directly to the main supply conductors and thusreceive unmetcred current before the power company is aware that the connection is made. Furthermore, it is very common at the pres ent. day even in well built and finely ap pointed buildings to pay little or no attention to the symmetrical arrangement of the various wires at the point where they join the main supply conductors and hence it is very difiicultfor the companys electricians to check up the various connections and as certain whether any of them are unauthorized or fail to pass through the companys meters.

The object of my invention is to provide apparatus which will in a practical and efficient manner remedy the evils mentioned.

Another object is to: provide means whereby in case of fire or other special circumstance, the rnain service switch maybe opened by merely pressing a button at any one of Various convenient points located within and around the buildin thus inst-a'ntlv breaking all "connections and electrically killing the building.

I accomplish my objects by the apparatus illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

in Which"-- Figure '1 is a front elevation of the board withthe doorthrown open. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation. Fig-3 is a plan section. Fig. 4: is a detail view showing the preferred form of door lock in front elevation. Fig. 5 is a top plan view ofv one of the removable plates located at the top and sides of the board. Fig. 6 is a lioriz'ontalcentral sectional view ofone of the removable side plates. Figs. 7 and 8 are front and edge views respectively ofan advantageous form of connector or jumper for use in connection with my apparatus. Figs. 9 and 10 are front and transverse sectional views respectively of the main switch and its operating means.

Similar reference characters denote similar parts throughoutthe several views.

The panel 1 consists of slate, marble or other insulating material and is arranged vertically within a box or cabinet comprising thesldes 2, In the preferred form the sides, top'and 2, the top 3 and bottom 4.-

bottom consist of sheet metal reinforced at both the front and rear edges by angle bars The cabinet is provided, preferably at a convenient point in the, rear, with lugs 6,

.whereby it may be fastened to the wall, usually near the point of entrance of the main service conductors 7, S, 9 into the building. Said panel is located ap 'iroximately mid; way between the front and rear edges of the cabinet and is held in position by angle bars 10 or other suitable contrivance. The back of the cabinet is'preferably open, but the front is provided with a door 12 c0nsisting preferably'of sheet metal and mounted upon hinges 13.

A lock the door, a suitable form being shown in Figs. 3 and 4:. In this form a ,handle 14 rotatable upon a horizontal stud 15 passes through the door and is squared on its inner portion to operate a bar 16 having an upwardly and a downwardly extending locking rod '17 and 18 respectively,articulately connected to its ends. These rods serve to lock the door at top and bottom as in the ordinary safe. Stud 15 is vertically aperor a seal or both'are'provided for lured to receive a seal bolt 19 having a head 19" at its upper end adapted to rest upon an apertured lug 12 secured to. the door. \Vhensaid bolt is dropped downthrough said lug and tl .rough the stud it prevents the bolt from rotating. and thus holds the door locked. The. bolt is apertured at its lower end to receive a seal ringlQ which also passes through an apertured lug 12 fastened tothe door. Thus .it is apparent that the door cannot be opened Without breaking andremoving said seal ring.

It will be seen that When the cabinet is secured in position against a wall or other fiat surface, and the door of the cabinet is closed, two compartments will be formed, one in front and one in back of the panel 1. Communicating with the rear compartment along the sides and top are removable plates 20,-shown in details in. Figs. 5 and 6. These plates are rectangular and are remoi ably secured to the angle bars 6, 10 by screws 21 or other suitable means. Tn the preferred construction these plates are mounted end to end and coiiperate with the side walls 2 and top Wall 8 to form the side and top closures for the rear compartment of the cabi" net. Said plates 20 are apertured preferably in the center, to receive the pipes 22 which form conduits for the'conductors 23 which lead to the various parts of the building. The ends of these pipes project a slight distance inwardly through the plates and are threaded to take the lock nuts 24.- and pipe bushings 25. Said lock nuts receive the plates 20 between them andthus rigidly secure the pipes and plates together. The bushings 25 serve to protect the insulation upon the conductors 23 when the latter are being passed through the pipev during Elf? sembling but may be omitted if desired.

Associated with each removable plate 20 is an aperture 27 in the panel 1 through which the conductors 23 may pass from the pipes 22 forwardly through the panel to the front' thereof, as best shown in Figs. l and In the preferred arrangement shown in the drawings there are two vertical rows of said apertures near the lateral edges of the panel and one horizontal row near the top edge thereof. This arrangement not only. presents a symmetrical appearance to the eye and assists the electrician in determining the identity and lead of the various upon the panel and as the apertures are near conductors 23 but also econoinizes space the edge of the panel facilitates the fishing through of said conductors 23 by the com panys electrician when the latter makes the final connection in the mannerhereinafter described. The arrangement illustrated in whichthe removable plates 90 are lo nted both at the sides and top is especially adapted for a three-wire system of distribution, and it will be understood that in a twoovire ing from the con'ipanvs mains.

system the removable plate and associa ed parts at the top of the board may be omitted.

In the three-wire system illustrated the main service conductors 7, 8, 9 previously mentioned pass into the cabinet preferably through the bottom of the front compartinent as best shown in Fig. 1. Under ordinary circumstances a lug 30 will be soldered to the inner end of each of said service conductors and a fuse 31 will connect each lug to a switch terminal 3:2 to which the blades 83 of the main switch are. pivoted and electrically connected in the ordinary manner The switch blades 33 are connected inechanic'ally but not electrically by a cross bar 34. provided with a handle 35 by which the switch may be operated. Said blades are adapted to enter the jaws 36 formed at the ends of the bus bars 37, 38, 39. The outer bus bars 37 and 39 are arranged parallel to the lateral rows of apertures 27 .while the central bar 38 leads to the bus bar 40 arranged parallel to the apertures 27 at the top ofthe board. The bars 37, 3?) and -10 are connected through fuses llor otherwise to, the terminal blocks 12 secured to the panel near the apertures 27. if dcsircc said terminal blocks 42 may be provided with switches of any suitable type so that they may be individually disconnected from the bus bars.

Tn operation, when the building is being wired the cabinet is secured against a wall in the basement or other point convenient to the ends of the service wires 7. 8, 9 lead If the building is far enough advanced so that tenants are apt to be moving in, a representative of the company locks and seals the door of the cabinet before any of the connectionsin the front conn'iartmcnt are made. The constructing electricians secure the pipes 22 to the plates 20 to the number which will be required in the innnediate future and then fasten the plates in position in the cabinet. The capacity of the cabinet is usually greater than will be immediately required and if this is the case blanli plates having no apertures in them but otherwise like the plates 20, will be scei'u'ed in position to form a closure for the rear compartment of the cabmet. The constructing electricians. then pass the ends'of the house conductors 23 from the pipes 22 forward through the apertures in thepanel. As the pipes and plates are added one at a time the free ends of the conductors may be readily passed through the apertures while the cabinet is in place. but further than this no connection can be made by the constructing electriciansbecausc the door at this time will be locked. This is an important feature of my apparatus for it will be seen that all of the real constructive Wonk may be done is, therefore, independent of the up with such of the conductors 28 as lead to the rooms or apartments of the building which are properly metered or are occupied by tenants who have made their arrange-. ments with the company. All that the representative has-to do is to solder a lug 43 onto the end of each conductor 23 projecting through the panel and then connect the lug in the ordinary manner to the respective terminal block 42. Said representative will also make the necessary connection between the main service conductors 7, 8, f) and the switch terminals He will then close the main switch 33, 39:, 35 and close and lock or seal the door. Thereafter no additional Wires can be connected up to the bus bars without opening the door, and if the door is sealed it "cannot be opened without ultimate detection by the company.

In View of the foregoing it will be seen that with my apparatus all of the actual constructive work may be done by the owner of the buildingbr bythe tenants, and that after the lugs 43 are once soldered to the conductors (and this need be done but once) the work of final connection to the source of supply is the work of but a few moments and yet this final connection cannot be made by anybody but the companys representative without detection. The buildingowner power company, except for the final act of turning on the current, which is and properly should be done by the company, and by the company only. After the installation has once been made, if a tenant moves out, the company can readily disconnect the conductors leading to the quarters vacated and the new tenant cannot obtain current until he has made proper arrangements with the company. Another advantage of my construction is that the pipes and plates and conductors need be added only as actual requirements arise, for the assembling of the pipe, bushing plate and lock nuts for a new conductor may be done at the bench, and afterward fastened in I place merely by screwing the plates to the sides or top of the cabinet. One or more of the adjacent unused plates may be removed if desired to make room for the hand of the electrician in fishing the conductor throughthe'. panel, but ordinarily this will not be necessary. This construction, therefore, permitsaddition to the equipment at any timewithout atfording access to the supply of bus bars.

It may frequently happen that a tenant may burn cut his circuit by overloading it or having a ground occur, whereupon it will be necessary for him to send to the company for a company electrician to come and replace the burned out fuse ll. As the ten ants load is usually left on, the electrician runs some risk of being burned in adjusting a new fuse, for the condition which burned out the fuse may still exist. I have provided means for eliminating this danger, the device being illustrated in Figs. 7 aud t-l. This device, which constitutes abridge or jumper, consists of a block 50 of fiber or other insulating material. To the ends of this block are attached comlueting elements 51 which are preferably enlarged at the ends, as shown,to increase their contact area. These conducting elements being preferably of copper,-are resilient to a certain extent and are adapted to exert at'one end a moderate pressure against the terminal block 4t) and at the other end against the associated bus bar 37,39 or ll). The conducting elements 51 are connected at the block by a fuse 52 covered by a hood 5?). Said conducting elements are covered with suitable insulating material 54. i

In operation, when the representative starts to replace the burned out fuse 41 he first places a jumper in position between the terminal block of said fuse and the adjacent bus bar and thus in'nnediately energizes the burned out circuit. If said circuit is grounded the fuse 52 in the jumper will burn out, but if the load is not excessive the circuit will remain energized and the tenant will'havethe use of his lights and power during the period of repair. As the current is shunted through the jum'perthe operator may safely replace the fuse 41 and soon as it is in position he may remove the jumper, whereupon the current will be carried by the fuse. Thus the current is not interrupted after the jumper is positioned, and the operator is protected during the operation.

In case of fire it'is desirable beforethe tiremen go into the building to cut off the suppl of current therefrom. I have provided means whereby the building may be thus electrically killed from 'a number of points within and adjacent to it. This portion of the apparatus is illustrated chietly in Figs. 9 and 10 of the drawings, and will now be described. A strong compression spring (30 is interposed between panel 1 and the cross bar 34 of the main switch. This springis strong enough to throw the blades 33 out of engagement with the switch jaws 36 unless restrained. The restrainii'ig means here consist of a detent 61 pivoted to the )ancl at the JOl'fll (32 and havin at its forward end a shoulder 63 adapted to engage a projection 64 upon said cross bar. Said detentis weighted so as to normally hold said shoulder in engagement with said projection. An electromagnet (3.3 is fastened to the back of the panel in suchposition that its movable core '66 will rise when the magnet is energized and impart a hammer blow to said detent and release the shoulder (36 from the projection 64. Said electromagnet is energized through conductors 67 and ('18, shown diagrammatically in Fig. 9. The circuit through these conductors may be closed at various points in and around the building by pressing push buttons-or switches 69, I0, 71 which may be provided to the number and in the locations desired. Springs 72 are mounted concentric with the pivots of the switch blades and act upon said blades in such manner as to pull the same away from the jaws 36 as soon as the shorter and stronger. springs 60 have overcome the friction of the jaws upon said blades. Thus the springs 60 operate to release the blades from the jaws, after which the lighter springs 7 2 serve to keep the switch in open position. It will be understood that this electric control of the main switch will not be availed of frequently, and consequently from lapse of'time the parts might tend to stick, but all danger of non operation from this cause is avoided by the construction shown, where a hammer blow is exerted upon the detent by the core of the electromagnet.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. Apparatus of theclass described, comprising a cabinet, a panel arranged vertically therein, and a set of rectangular plates forming a portion of the side wall of the cabinet, said plates being rectangular in outline and located edge to edge and being individually removable for the purpose described.

2. An electric service apparatus comprising a cabinet, a panel board arranged vertica'l-ly therein between the front and the back thereof, electric connections on the front of the boa-rd and plates forming a portion of the sidewalls of the cabinet behind the panel board, said plates being rectangular in outline and located edge to edge and being individually removable for the purpose described.

3. An electric service apparatus comprising a cabinet of fixed size, a panel board therein located" between the front andback,"

panel arranged vertically within the cabinet between the front andrear edges thereof, bus bars attached to the-front of the panel, terminal blocks arranged parallel to the bus bars, therebeing an aperture in the panel adjacent to each of said terminal blocks,

and a-set of removable plates rectangular in outline and removably secured to the reinforcing bars of the cabinet edge to edge,said plates being apertured substantially as .described. Y

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed-my name in the presence of two Witnesses.

NELS J-QLEEN.

lVitnesses ETTA L. WHITE, MARGARET D. Ross. 

